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India Rescues Diplomatic Staff, Paramilitary Troopers In Daring Afghanistan Mission But It Isn’t The Country’s First

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India Rescues Diplomatic Staff, Paramilitary Troopers In Daring Afghanistan Mission But It Isn’t The Country’s First

The crisis that unfolded at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul takes one back to the time when the government has come to the rescue of nationals trapped in other countries. India rescues diplomatic staff

paramilitary troopers in daring Afghanistan mission but it isn’t the country’s first

With different countries in the world racing against time to evacuate citizens from Afghanistan, India too embarked on a mission to save Indians trapped in the strife-torn nation with hardly any means to return home.

To start with India safely brought back home its diplomatic staff, including the ambassador, from Afghanistan in the first leg of the mission. It was not an easy operation and had serious security and logistical challenges. Some 200 people were brought back from Kabul in two military aircraft — one flight landed on Monday with over 40 staffers while the other came in on Tuesday afternoon with around 150 people.

However, this is not India’s maiden experience in rescuing people from conflict zones and the country has done so in the past. Following are the biggest international evacuation operations that India has conducted since 2000.

Operation Sukoon

A number of foreign nationals were stuck in Lebanon when a military conflict broke out between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. The operation was launched to evacuate Indians, Sri Lankans and Nepalese citizens from war-hit Lebanon.

In one of the largest evacuations conducted by the Indian Navy, a total of 2,280 people including 1,764 Indians, 112 Sri Lankans, 64 Nepalese and seven Lebanese nationals with Indian spouses were evacuated following the conflict. The Indian Navy used the destroyer INS Mumbai, frigates INS Brahmaputra, INS Betwa and fleet tanker, INS Shakti for the mission.

Operation Safe Homecoming

Operation Safe Homecoming was an operation launched by the Indian government on 26 February, 2011 to evacuate its citizens who were fleeing from the Libyan Civil War.

The air-sea operation was conducted by the Indian Navy and Air India.

India ordered three naval ships — two destroyers and its largest amphibious vessel, the INS Jalashwa — to sail from Mumbai to Libya on 26 February to bring back the stranded nationals. At the end of the operation, around 15,000 Indians had been evacuated while 3,000 chose to stay back.

Workers Rescued From Iraq

This is the real-life Tiger Zinda Hai story.

In June 2014, 46 Indian nurses were held in captivity by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria militants in war-ravaged Iraq for 23 days. They were stranded in their hospital in Tikrit when the civil war between the IS forces and the Iraqi army intensified.

On the afternoon of 13 June, 2014, the militants had occupied the ground floor of the hospital. Nurses could hear heavy firing and bombing for almost two hours. There were both staff and patients at the hospital everyone had hoarded up on the second floor of the hospital that had been converted into a dormitory.

Finally, after 23 days, the nurses were released and were brought home. On their release, the nurses said they had been well treated by their as yet unidentified captors. “They were good people because they did not misbehave with us. They provided for food, accommodation and whatever we wanted they provided for,” one nurse, who did not give her name, told a local television network.

Operation Raahat

The Indian government organised Operation Raahat with the help of Indian armed forces to evacuate Indians as well as foreign citizens from conflict-hit Yemen in 2015.

In March of 2015, the Royal Saudi Air Force led a coalition of Arab states in attacking the Shia Houthi rebels. As the fighting worsened in Yemen, the Indian government negotiated a window to get trapped nationals back home.

The operation started by sea on 1 April and two days later the airlifts started too. The airlifts by the Indian Air Force and Air India resulted in the evacuation of over 4,500 Indians and at least 900 foreign nationals from 41 countries. The airlifts concluded on 9 April.

While Indian naval ships evacuated nationals from Yemenese port cities to Djibouti and Air India ferried back nationals from Sana to Djibouti, IAF deployed three C-17 aircraft to ferry back Indian nationals from Djibouti to Kochi and Mumbai. As many as 11 evacuation trips were undertaken by IAF aircraft that facilitated the safe evacuation of 2,096 Indian nationals.

Rescue Mission In Brussels

In 2016, a Jet Airways flight evacuated around 242 Indians, including 28 Jet Airways crew members who had been stranded in Brussels after multiple blasts hit the city.

Three coordinated suicide bombings — two at Brussels Airport and one at Maalbeek metro station in central Brussels — killed 32 civilians and the three perpetrators.

The airline first took around 800 people who had been stranded at the airport after coming in on four different flights by road to Amsterdam. Two flights then left for Amsterdam from India, where one brought back 242 passengers to India and the other took off to Newark, United States.

In the attack at the airport, a Jet Airways crew member Nidhi Chaphekar — whose photograph as she sat, shocked and injured on a chair, became a defining image of the horrors of the blast.

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INS Arihant’s Nuke-Capable K-4 Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile ‘Ready To Roll’

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INS Arihant’s Nuke-Capable K-4 Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile ‘Ready To Roll’


NEW DELHI: India tested its nuclear capable K-4 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), designed to have a strike range of 3,500 km, for the second time in six days on Friday. The missile test, as the one conducted on January 19, was undertaken from an undersea platform in the shape of a submersible pontoon off the coast of Andhra Pradesh according to a report by Rajat Pandit of TOI.

The solid-fuelled K-4 missile is being developed by DRDO to arm the country’s nuclear-powered submarines in the shape of INS Arihant and its under-development sister vessels. INS Arihant, which became fully operational in November 2018 to complete India’s nuclear triad, is currently armed with the much shorter K-15 missiles with a 750 km range.

“The K-4 is now virtually ready for its serial production to kick-off. The two tests have demonstrated its capability to emerge straight from underwater and undertake its parabolic trajectory,” said a source.

India has the land-based Agni missiles, with the over 5,000-km Agni-V inter-continental ballistic missile now in the process of being inducted, and fighter jets jury-rigged to deliver nuclear weapons. But INS Arihant gives the country’s deterrence posture much more credibility because nuclear-powered submarines armed with nuclear-tipped missiles are considered the most secure, survivable and potent platforms for retaliatory strikes.

Once the K-4 missiles are inducted, they will help India narrow the gap with countries like the US, Russia and China, which have over 5,000-km range SLBMs. The K-4 missiles are to be followed by the K-5 and K-6 missiles in the 5,000-6,000 km range class.

The 6,000-ton INS Arihant, which is propelled by an 83 MW pressurised light-water reactor at its core, in turn, is to be followed by INS Arighat, which was launched in 2017. The next generation of nuclear submarines, currently called S-4 and S-4*, will be much larger in size.





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After Upgradation, Sukhoi Su-30MKI Indigenisation To Reach 78%

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After Upgradation, Sukhoi Su-30MKI Indigenisation To Reach 78%


India has received clearance to upgrade 84 Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jets, which will result in 78% indigenization after the upgrade

In a significant step towards bolstering its military might with indigenously developed technology, India is poised to witness its Russian-origin Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jets evolve into a domestic platform. Speaking at a recent lecture.

The upgrade program is being led by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in partnership with the Indian Air Force and other partners. The upgrade is expected to cost US$7.5 billion.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) granted Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the upgrade. The upgrade is part of India’s efforts to improve the capabilities of its primary fighter aircraft, it refers to as the “Super Sukhoi”.

This initiative is a part of a larger effort by the Indian Air Force to modernize its ageing fleet. Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari asserted the critical role of an offensive air force as demonstrated in current global conflicts and emphasized India’s move towards an indigenized arsenal. To this end, the IAF has been proactive, from upgrading its Mirage 2000 to enhancing its MiG-29 fleet.

In summary, the IAF’s commitment to updating their combat forces with the latest technology, including shifting to fifth-generation fighter jets, ensures operational preparedness and a strong deterrence capability. The gradual indigenization of its air fleet marks a pivotal shift in India’s defence landscape, reducing dependency on foreign imports and fostering technological sovereignty.





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Akash Weapon System Exports For The Armenian Armed Forces Gathers Pace

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Akash Weapon System Exports For The Armenian Armed Forces Gathers Pace


According to unconfirmed reports, Armenia is a top contender for an export order for Akash SAM system manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).

While there is no official confirmation because of the sensitivities involved, documents suggest that the order for the same has already been placed the report further added.
There are nine countries, in turn, which have shown interest in the indigenously-developed Akash missile systems, which can intercept hostile aircraft, helicopters, drones and subsonic cruise missiles at a range of 25-km. They are Kenya, Philippines, Indonesia, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Vietnam and Algeria reported TOI.

The Akash export version will also be slightly different from the one inducted by the armed forces. The 100-km range air-to-air Astra missiles, now entering production after successful trials from Sukhoi-30MKI fighters, also have “good export potential”, said sources.

Akash is a “tried, tested and successfully inducted systems”. Indian armed forces have ordered Akash systems worth Rs 24,000 crore over the years, and MoD inked a contract in Mar 2023 of over Rs 9,100 crores for improved Akash Weapon System

BDL is a government enterprise under the Ministry of Defence that was established in 1970. BDL manufactures surface-to-air missiles and delivers them to the Indian Army. BDL also offers its products for export.

Akash Weapon System

The AWS is a Short Range Surface to Air Missile (SRSAM) Air Defence System, indigenously designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). In order to meet aerial threats, two additional Regiments of AWS with Upgradation are being procured for Indian Army for the Northern borders. Improved AWS has Seeker Technology, Reduced Foot Print, 360° Engagement Capability and improved environmental parameters.

The project will give a boost to the Indian missile manufacturing industry in particular and the indigenous defence manufacturing ecosystem as a whole. The project has overall indigenous content of 82% which will be increased to 93% by 2026-27.

The induction of the improved AWS into the Indian Army will increase India’s self-reliance in Short Range Missile capability. This project will play a role in boosting the overall economy by avoiding outgo of precious foreign exchange to other countries, increasing employment avenues in India and encouraging Indian MSMEs through components manufacturing. Around 60% of the project cost will be awarded to the private industry, including MSMEs, in maintaining the supply chain of the weapon system, thereby creating large scale of direct and indirect employment.





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